Lucent Technologies DEFINITY Enterprise Communications Server Release 8 Guide To ACD Call Centers

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
Guide to ACD Call Centers  555-233-503  Issue 2
December 1999
DEFINITY ECS ACD Call Center Features 
3-37 Automatic Call Distribution 
3
nFor MEGACOM 800 Service with DNIS over a wink/wink-tie trunk, if all agents 
are logged out or in AUX work mode, incoming MEGACOM calls receive a busy 
signal if no coverage path is provided (unlike other automatic-in trunk groups, 
which receive ringback from the central office).
nCO switches usually drop calls that remain unanswered after two to three minutes. 
Therefore, if an incoming CO call queues to a split without hearing an 
announcement or music, and the caller hears CO ringback for two to three minutes, 
the CO drops the call.
Agent Considerations
nAgents should not be used for hunt group calls and ACD split calls simultaneously. 
Otherwise, all calls from one split (either ACD or hunt group) are answered first. 
For example, if ACD calls are answered first, none of the hunt-group calls are 
answered until all of the ACD calls are answered.
nAgents with multiappearance phones can receive only one ACD call at a time 
unless Multiple Call Handling is active. Without MCH, a phone is available for an 
ACD call only if all call appearances are idle. The agent may, however, receive 
non-ACD calls while active on an ACD call.
Vector-Controlled Splits
nYou can enhance ACD by using Call Prompting, Call Vectoring and Expert Agent 
Selection. For detailed information on vector-controlled splits, see the DEFINITY® 
Enterprise Communications Server Call Vectoring/EAS Guide (555-230-521). 
Vector-controlled splits/skills should not be called directly via the split/skill 
extension (instead of via a VDN mapped to a vector that terminates the call to a 
vector controlled split/skill). However, if split/skill extensions are called, the calls 
do not receive any announcements, are not forwarded or redirected to coverage, 
and do no intraflow/interflow to another hunt group.
nThe oldest-call-waiting termination, which is available with Call Vectoring, is 
supported for agents who are servicing ACD calls only.
Changing Hunt Groups from ACD to Non-ACD
Before you change a hunt group from ACD to non-ACD, all agents in that hunt group 
must be logged out. When you change a hunt group from ACD to non-ACD, the system 
places all agents in that hunt group in busy state. If any phones in the hunt group have an 
Auxiliary Work button, the button lamp lights. To become available for calls, the agent 
presses the Auxiliary Work button or dials the Hunt Group Busy Deactivation FAC 
followed by the hunt-group number.
Interactions
nAttendant Call Waiting
An attendant can originate or extend a call to an ACD split. Attendant Call Waiting 
cannot be used on such calls. However, such calls can enter the split queue. 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
Guide to ACD Call Centers  555-233-503  Issue 2
December 1999
DEFINITY ECS ACD Call Center Features 
3-38 Automatic Call Distribution 
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nAttendant Intrusion
Attendant Intrusion does not work with ACD split extensions because an ACD 
extension has many agent extensions. It is not possible to determine which agent 
extension to intrude upon.
nAutomatic Callback
Automatic Callback calls cannot be activated toward an ACD split.
nCall Coverage
Calls can redirect to or from an ACD split. A vector-controlled split cannot be 
assigned a coverage path.
For a call to an ACD split to be redirected to call coverage on the Busy coverage 
criterion, one of the following conditions must exist:
— All agents in the split are active on at least one call appearance and the 
queue, if there is one, is full.
— No agents are logged in.
— All agents are in Auxiliary Work mode.
If the queue is not full, a call enters the queue when at least one agent is on an 
ACD call or in ACW mode. Queued calls remain in queue until the Coverage 
Don’t Answer Interval expires before redirecting to coverage. If any split agent 
becomes available, the call is directed to the agent.
Calls that redirect on the Don’t Answer coverage criterion are reported to 
BCMS/CMS as intraflowed calls. 
If a call is queued for an ACD split and redirects via Call Coverage directly to an 
announcement, the call is dropped after the announcement.
Calls to a split that are directed to an agent’s phone do not follow the agent’s call 
coverage path. If an agent activates Send All Calls it does not affect the 
distribution of ACD calls. An ACD split call directed to an agent’s station follows 
the split’s call coverage path, once the agent’s Don’t Answer interval is met.
nCall Forwarding All Calls
Call Forwarding All Calls activated for an individual extension does not affect the 
extension’s ACD functions.
When activated for the split extension, calls directed to the split are forwarded 
from the split. Calls receive no announcements associated with that split (other 
than a forced first announcement, if administered). The system reports to BCMS or 
CMS that calls are queued on the split. The system reports to CMS when the call is 
removed from the queue and forwarded.
Calls can be forwarded to an off-premises destination to activate Intraflow and 
Interflow. See ‘‘
Intraflow and Interflow’’ on page 3-99 in this book for more 
information. 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
Guide to ACD Call Centers  555-233-503  Issue 2
December 1999
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nData Call Setup
Voice-terminal or data-terminal dialing can be used on calls to or from a member 
of an ACD split. 
nData Restriction
If the trunk group used for an ACD call has data restriction activated, agents with 
Automatic Answer activated do not hear the usual zip tone.
nDCS
CMS cannot measure ACD splits on a DCS network as if they were one switch. 
Agents for a split must be all on the same switch. If a call to an ACD split is 
forwarded to a split at another DCS node, the caller does not hear the forced first 
announcement at the second split.
If an ACD split is in night service, with a split at second DCS node as the night 
service destination, a call to the first split is connected to the second split’s first 
forced announcement.
nDial Intercom
An agent with origination and termination restriction can receive ACD calls and 
can make and receive dial intercom calls.
nHold
If an agent puts an ACD call on hold, information is reported to the CMS via 
Personal Call Tracking. CMS records the amount of time the agent actually talks 
on the call.
nIndividual Attendant Access
Individual attendant extensions can be assigned to ACD splits. Unlike 
voice-terminal users, individual attendants can answer ACD calls as long as there 
is an idle call appearance and no other ACD call is on the console.
nInternal Automatic Answer (IAA)
Internal calls directed to an ACD split are eligible for IAA. You cannot administer 
IAA and ACD Automatic Answer simultaneously on the same station. 
nIntraflow and Interflow
Intraflow and Interflow, when used with Call Forwarding All Calls or Call 
Coverage, allows splits to be redirected to other destinations on and outside the 
system. For more information, see ‘‘
Intraflow and Interflow’’ on page 3-99.
nMultiappearance Preselection and Preference
All assigned call appearances must be idle before an ACD call is directed to a 
phone.
nNight Service – Hunt Group
When Hunt Group Night Service is activated for a split and the night-service 
destination is a hunt group, a caller hears the first forced announcement at the 
original split. The call is redirected to the night-service destination hunt group. If 
all agents in the hunt group are busy, the caller hears whatever you have assigned. 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
Guide to ACD Call Centers  555-233-503  Issue 2
December 1999
DEFINITY ECS ACD Call Center Features 
3-40 Automatic Call Distribution 
3
nTerminating Extension Group 
A TEG cannot be a member of an ACD split.
nTransfer
Calls cannot be transferred to a busy split. The transfer fails and the agent 
transferring the call is re-connected to the call. If an agent presses the Transfer 
button, 
dials the hunt-group extension number, and then disconnects while the split 
is busy, the call is disconnected.
nPhone Display
For calls dialed directly to an ACD split extension, the identity of both the calling 
party and ACD split are shown on the phone display. 
						

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Basic Call Management System  
Basic Call Management System (BCMS) provides real-time and historical reports to assist 
you in managing agents, ACD splits (hunt groups), VDNs, and trunk groups. You can 
display BCMS reports on the Management Terminal or print them on the printer 
associated with the Management Terminal. In addition, you can schedule historical reports 
to print on the system printer.
BCMS provides the following reports:
nReal Time Reports
— Split Status
— System Status
— VDN Status
nHistorical Reports
—Agent
— Agent Summary
— Split
— Split Summary
— Trunk Group
— Trunk Group Summary
— VDN
— VDN Summary
For a detailed description of BCMS and the reports it provides, see DEFINITY Enterprise 
Communications Server Basic Call Management System (BCMS) Operations. 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
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How to Administer BCMS
All agents should log off before any changes are made to the BCMS/VuStats Login ID 
form.
Measurements can be turned off for a split while agents are logged in, but agents must be 
logged off to start measurements for a split.
Table 3-8. Required Forms
Form Field
System Parameters 
Customer-Options
nBCMS
nBCMS Service Level
nACD
nBCMS/VuStats Login ID
Agent LoginIDn When BCMS is being used with EAS, complete all 
fields for each agent
BCMS/VuStats Login IDnWhen BCMS is being used without EAS, enter a 
Login ID and Name for each agent.
Feature-Related System 
Parameters
nBCMS Parameters
nBCMS/VuStats Measurement Interval
nACD Login Identification Length
nBCMS/VuStats Abandoned Call Timer
nSystem Printer Extension
nLines Per Page
Hunt GroupsnMeasured
nAcceptable Service Level
Trunk GroupsnMeasured
Vector Directory Number 
(VDN)
nMeasured
nAcceptable Service Level 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
Guide to ACD Call Centers  555-233-503  Issue 2
December 1999
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Interactions
For information about how BCMS records redirected and conferenced calls, see 
DEFINITY Enterprise Communications Server Basic Call Management System (BCMS) 
Operations.
nMove Agents From CMS
If agents are moved from one split to another split by the CMS adjunct, 
measurements are stopped for the agent’s “from” split and started for the agent’s 
“to” split.
If the adjunct CMS attempts to move an agent that is not being measured by 
BCMS into a split that is being measured by BCMS, and the move would exceed 
the maximum number of measured agents, the switch rejects the move. Otherwise, 
internal BCMS measurements are started for the agent. If the adjunct CMS moves 
an agent from a split that is measured by BCMS to a split that is not 
BCMS-measured, internal measurements for the agent stop.
nNight Service
When night service is activated for a split, new calls go to the alternate destination. 
BCMS does not record these calls as OUTFLOW. If the destination is a measured 
split, BCMS treats the calls as new incoming calls (that is, BCMS does not record 
them as INFLOW).
nSystem Measurements
The system can produce BCMS reports, adjunct CMS reports, and switch traffic 
measurements simultaneously.
BCMS measurements are not determined in the same way as trunk group and hunt 
group measurements although some of the information is similar. Therefore, the 
two reports may represent data differently.
Table 3-9. System Capacity
R8csi/si R8r
Maximum agents displays by Monitor BCMS Split command1001
1. The Monitor Split command will only display status for the first 100 agents logged into the split 
regardless of how many additional agents log in to the split.  100
1
Maximum BCMS terminals34
Maximum active maintenance commands for system15
Maximum BCMS terminals in monitor mode at same time2
2. BCMS monitoring, being a maintenance command, is limited by the active maintenance commands 
limit, reduced by 2 in the “r” system configuration (since 2 active command slots are reserved for 
the INADs and SAT logins respectively).
13 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
Guide to ACD Call Centers  555-233-503  Issue 2
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Best Service Routing
To help you maximize productivity across a network of call centers, DEFINITY ECS gives 
you 3 ways to route calls between centers:
nInterflow
–DEFINITY ECS gives you simple ways to unconditionally route—or 
interflow—calls from one switch to another. For information on unconditionally 
interflowing calls from splits that are not vector controlled, see ‘‘
Information 
Forwarding’’ on page 3-93. For information on unconditionally interflowing calls 
from vector-controlled splits, see ‘‘
Look-Ahead Interflow’’ on page 3-102.
nLook–Ahead Interflow (LAI)
-LAI gives you more control over the interflow 
process. You can set conditions on a switch to specify when calls should be 
interflowed to other locations. You can also set conditions on a switch to specify 
when interflow attempts from other switches will be accepted and when they won’t 
be. For information on using LAI, see ‘‘
Look-Ahead Interflow’’ on page 3-102.
Best Service Routing (BSR) allows DEFINITY ECS to compare specified splits or skills, 
identify the split or skill that will provide the best service to a call, and deliver the call to 
that resource. If no agents are currently available in that split or skill, the call is queued. To 
respond to changing conditions and operate more efficiently, BSR monitors the status of 
the specified resources and adjusts call processing and routing as appropriate.
BSR is available in single and multi-site versions. Single-site BSR compares splits or 
skills on the DEFINITY ECS where it resides to find the best resource to service a call. 
Multi-site BSR extends this capability across a network of DEFINITY switches, 
comparing local splits or skills, remote splits or skills, or both, and routing calls to the 
resource that will provide the best service.
Best Service Routing is summarized in this chapter. For complete information on how to 
get the most from BSR, see “Best Service Routing” in the DEFINITY
® Enterprise 
Communications Server Call Vectoring/EAS Guide (555-230-521).
Benefits of Best Service Routing
Both single- and multi-site BSR intelligently compare specific resources to find the one 
that can best service a call. In addition, multi-site BSR allows you to integrate a network 
of call centers for better load balancing and optimal agent utilization. Depending on your 
specific application, BSR can yield a variety of other benefits as shown below. 
						

							DEFINITY ECS Release 8
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December 1999
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Table 3-10. Best Service Routing Benefits
You can benefit by… As a result of…
Improved customer satisfactionnLower average speed of answer (ASA), thus more calls 
handled1
nGreater probability that expert agents will be available for a 
specific call type (for centers with EAS)
nLower abandonment rate
By balancing the load between locations in a network, BSR 
reduces extremes in wait times between the locations.
1.A location’s ASA may be low because the location is underutilized and agents are frequently sitting 
idle. When BSR is implemented at such a location, ASA may rise because of the rise in incoming 
call volume. Increased revenue
nLower average speed of answer (ASA), thus more calls 
handled
nLower abandonment rate
nLower network cost
nGreater probability that high-revenue generating agents will 
be available for a specific call type (for centers with Expert 
Agent Selection)
Improved productivitynIncreased agent occupancy rates 
Improve your service without adding staff, or reduce staff 
while maintaining your current level of service.
nFaster delivery of interflowed calls
Agents at one location in a network are less likely to sit idle 
while calls wait in queue at another location.
Increased operating flexibility, 
easier staffing and scheduling
nLarger pool of agents available to take calls in a split or skill
Spikes in call volume at a single call center can be 
distributed across all centers. Temporarily understaffed 
centers can be supported by the other centers in the network.
Improved service levelsnLower average speed of answer (ASA), thus more calls 
handled
Increased performancenLess messaging and processing required per call
Operating separate sites as an 
integrated “virtual call center”
nDEFINITY ECS ability to compare resources and queue a 
call to the best one
nDEFINITY ECS enhanced information forwarding 
capabilities 
						

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Before You Start Using BSR
For single-site BSR applications, your switch must meet the requirements shown below 
(except for LAI). To use multi-site BSR applications, both the switches involved and the 
network connecting them must meet all the requirements described in this section.
!CAUTION:
To ensure your network meets the requirements for BSR support presented below, 
contact your Account Executive about BSR network certification.
Switch Requirements for BSR
Your switch has to meet all of the requirements shown below to support Best Service 
Routing. Check the settings shown below before you try to use BSR.
NOTE:
If you begin using BSR and then decide to turn it off, you will not be able to set 
Vectoring (Best Service Routing) to n
 until you remove all BSR commands from 
vectors.
Table 3-11. Requirements to use Best Service Routing  
Form Page FieldMust be set to…
Software Version1Memory ResidentG3V6i.03 or
G3V6r.03
System-
Parameters Customer-
Options1
1. ISDN connectivity is only necessary if you want to use multi-site BSR. One or both of 
these fields must be set to “Y.” Multi-site BSR operates over both BRI and PRI trunks.1
G3 VersionV6 or higher
2ISDN-BRI Trunks?Y
ISDN-PRI Trunks?Y
3Vectoring (G3V4 Advanced 
Routing)
Y
Vectoring (Best Service 
Routing)
Y
Lookahead Interflow (LAI)2
2. Lookahead Interflow is only necessary if you want to use multi-site BSR. For status poll 
and interflow calls used in multi-site BSR applications, set up trunks as you would for 
LAI. See 
‘‘Look-Ahead Interflow’’ on page 3-102, for more information. Information 
Forwarding is not required for polling calls.Y
Feature-Related System 
Parameters
8Adjunct CMS ReleaseR3V6 or higher,
or left blank